


How to Pick the Worthy Ones

by Lauren (notalwaysweak)



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-12
Updated: 2007-07-12
Packaged: 2017-10-05 20:59:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notalwaysweak/pseuds/Lauren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the Hogwarts Elite Fiction Challenge #2, term 11, for the prompt:</p><p>1) Your fic must somehow feature the adage 'Keep you friends close and your enemies closer.' Use it as a theme or as a line in your story or both.<br/>2) Your fic must be set before the end of Harry's sixth year. It does not have to be set during Harry's lifetime.</p><p>It won :-D</p><p>Dedicated to Kat (kittehkat).</p>
            </blockquote>





	How to Pick the Worthy Ones

**Author's Note:**

> Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling.

Helga was chanting quietly as she stitched the loose brim of Godric's hat back to its crown, reinforcing her needlework with charms. The fire was burning low, but Rowena knelt before it, fussing with the coals and a couple of thick logs, prodding them with her wand. Godric was examining the scale model of the castle that sat on the head table; complete with working staircases, the model had grown as the castle was built, and helped them locate any areas in need of repair. Its only flaw was that it didn't quite show _everything_ – there were a few blank spots where the magic simply refused to work.

Salazar sat and watched them. Four of the wizarding world's greatest minds gathered together in their jointly created, practically new school, and three out of the four of them were piddling around with domestic spells that a house-elf could cast.

'There,' Helga said at last, biting the thread off and setting the hat down on the table. 'It's ready. Godric dear, you really must take better care of your things. I wouldn't blame the children if they didn't want to put such a battered old hat on their heads.'

Salazar raised an eyebrow. 'Neatly done, Helga. I thought it was beyond repair.'

Rowena got to her feet and joined them at the table. 'Salazar, the state of your own clothing leaves something to be desired; I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you.'

'He's just trying to help keep the floors clear by sweeping them with his dropped hems,' Godric said, and Salazar glared at him.

'Please, stop it,' Helga said. 'This is important magic, and we can't possibly get it wrong if we want the Houses to continue as they are.'

Salazar refrained from making any remark. Helga's intervention had reinforced the ties between the four more times than he could count, but as time wore on, he was gradually finding her more and more nauseating.

Godric raised his wand, setting its tip against his temple. 'So I need to focus on the ideals of Gryffindor House,' he said, not quite rhetorically.

'Focus the same way you would if you were summoning a memory to put into a Pensieve,' Rowena said. 'Focus on the qualities a Gryffindor House member should have. Pretend you've got a first-year in here to sort, if it helps.' Salazar could see the tension on her face; she had worked hard to create the spells required to charm the hat as a surrogate to do the sorting for them, and they were still mostly flying by the seat of their robes.

Godric's face screwed up as if he was having an unpleasantly difficult bowel movement, and when he pulled his wand away from his head a thick braid of red magic trailed after it, settling slowly into the hat when he poked the wand inside it. He shook the hat, letting the magic settle, and then handed it to Salazar.

Looking into the hat, Salazar could see the magic in the peak. _The question is whether or not it'll fall back out when someone puts it on_, he thought, lifting his own wand.

His idea of what Slytherin House's students should be turned out to look like a snake made of green smoke; it slithered off his wand into the hat and coiled there as he passed the hat on to Rowena.

When all four of them had placed their thoughts on their Houses into the hat, their combined magic sank into the fabric and vanished.

'Did it work?' Helga whispered.

'It must have,' Rowena said, 'I spent _months_ researching--'

The hat itself interrupted her, making a noise that sounded exactly like Godric clearing his throat. A gap opened near the brim as if the hat had a mouth, and as the four founders stared at it, the hat began to _sing_.

'Thank you, friends, for giving me life  
You won't regret your choice  
In times of trouble and of strife  
I will sing as your true voice  
I'll be your proxy in coming years  
Be your choosy advocate  
I'll speak my words to eager ears  
As your faithful Sorting Hat!'

'Goodness me,' Helga said faintly. 'Rowena, were you expecting this?'

'No,' Rowena said. 'And anyway, "advocate" doesn't rhyme with "Hat".'

'I've only been sentient for two minutes,' the Hat said tetchily, 'what did you expect, iambic pentameter?'

'I think it worked, at least,' Godric said. 'We can try it out when the new students arrive on Monday. Does that suit you, Hat?'

'Perfectly well, Gryffindor,' the Hat said.

'Ye gods,' Salazar muttered. 'Come along, Godric, we've time for a game of chess before bed.'

Godric got up. 'I'm sorry about what I said about your hems.'

'Never mind. You're right anyway. They do need taking up. But Helga's right, we shouldn't quarrel. The students don't need to see such dissention amongst us,' Salazar said, thinking, _Besides, I want to keep you where I can see you until Slytherin House is well and truly established. I don't want you muddying my students' minds with any Mudblood-loving nonsense._

Helga smiled at him. 'I could take up your hems if you need a hand, Salazar,' she offered.

Salazar smiled back. Laughed at something Godric said. Joined in theorising when Rowena began to think aloud about why the spell had created the Hat the way it had. For the rest of that night, at least, the four remained friends.


End file.
